Tropical coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystems on earth, giving shelter to thousands of animal species. Many people depend on fisheries, tourism and coastal protection provided by healthy coral reefs. Yet today, coral reefs are dying at an alarming rate all around the globe.
Researchers of Secore International (USA, Germany), the University of Amsterdam / Universiteit van Amsterdam (Netherlands) and the Carmabi Marine Research Station (Curaçao) have for the first time successfully raised laboratory-bred colonies of a threatened Caribbean coral species to sexual maturity. “In 2011, offspring of the Critically Endangered Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) were reared from gametes collected in the field and were outplanted to a reef one year later”, explains Valérie Chamberland, coral reef ecologist working for SECORE and Carmabi.
“In four years, these branching corals have grown to a size of a soccer ball and reproduced, simultaneously with their natural population, in September 2015. This event marks the first ever successful rearing of a threatened Caribbean coral species to its reproductive age.” These findings have been published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Bulletin of Marine Science.
Untill now it has proven near impossible to breed corals within captivity meaning that unlike many animals you see in zoos these animals have NO BACK UP! meaning that with this new breeding programme it is allowing these Caribbean coral species a new lease of life for these animals.